Michigan's northwestern Lower Pinensula is perfectly suited for making some very fine wines. The hilly country combined with the moderating temperatures that come inland off Lake Michigan make the conditions just right for growing grapes. This is just one of the many vineyards in Michigan. Fall is harvest time and most of the Winery's provide taste testing.

Fishtown

Along our journey, we make a quick stop in Leland, MI, also known as Fishtown. This is such a cute little fishing village that sits at the tip of Lake Leelanau where it connects to Lake Michigan. You can visit several little shops, have some fresh smoked fish from our Great Lakes or even hop on a ferry boat that will take you to North or South Manitou Islands.

Empire Bluffs

Another beautiful spot to check out while in the Sleeping Dunes area is Empire Bluffs. Empire Bluffs encompasses a 1.5 mile roundtrip hike that takes you down a well maintained trail across some hilly terrain and through some very dense Maple, Beech & Ash forests. Along the way, you'll have the opportunity to stop and view the Dunes and the Lake Michigan Shoreline. The walk is very peaceful and at the end of the trail is a bluff that overlooks Lake Michigan. To the north, you'll find Sleeping Bear Dunes and South Bar Lake. To the south, you'll see the shoreline arch out into Lake Michigan and on the end of that point is Point Betsie Lighthouse.

(Above) The trail leading towards Lake Michigan.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore encompasses over 111 sq. miles (56,993 acres), stretches about 35 miles and includes the wilderness areas of North Manitou and South Manitou Islands. Below is a picture that I took from a viewing point off the Pierce Stocking Scenic Drive. In the distance, you'll see the North & South Manitou Islands and the shadowed mound you see in the middle of the picture along the lakeshore is supposed to be in the shape of the mother bear (read the legend below and you'll understand). The Islands are an important part of the National Lakeshore. The legend of the dunes is posted below.

THE LEGEND OF THE SLEEPING BEAR
Long ago, in the land that is today Wisconsin, Mother Bear and her two cubs were driven into Lake Michigan by a raging forest fire. The cubs swam strongly but the distance and the water proved too much for them. They fell further and further behind and ultimately slipped beneath the waves. When Mother Bear reached the Michigan shore, she climbed to the top of a bluff and peered back across the water, searching vainly for her cubs. The Great Spirit saw her and took pity on her plight. He raised North and South Manitou Islands to mark the place where her cubs vanished and laid a slumber upon Mother Bear.-Ojibway Indian Legend

The picture above is looking down onto Lake Michigan from atop the dunes. It's a steep 450 ft. drop down to the lake and an EXTREMELY exhausting climb back up to the top. (Below) is a picture of some dune grass which is very important to the ecologoy of the dunes.

Dune Climb

Dune Climb is a part of the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore located west of Traverse City on the Lake Michigan shoreline. The photo above was taken on the dunes overlooking Little & Big Glenn Lakes. The bottom two pictures are overlooking Lake Michigan.

Welcome to Michigan

Welcome and Thank you for visiting our site. We are pleased to be here and to have you here as well. Photographing Michigan has been a passion of ours ever since we were old enough to take pictures. We love to photograph all of Michigan's beauty in it's natural state. We take a couple big road trips each year and try to venture off to new corners of our state. Michigan has such a wide and vast variety of landscapes, it's hard to visit and photograph all of it in a matter of a few years, so with that said, our adventure of photographing Michigan will be a lifelong excursion.

Here are some interesting statistics about Michigan:
It's divided up into two land areas.....the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) and the Lower Peninsula which are connected by The Mackinaw Bridge. It's bordered by 4 out of the 5 Great Lakes and Michigan has the longest shoreline in the continental U.S. with nearly 3,300 miles of shoreline. It has nearly 11,000 fresh water lakes and it's home to Isle Royal National Park, the only (island) National Park in the United States.

No matter if you're looking for hiking, biking, scenic drives, water activities, snowmobiling, skiing, snowshoeing, fall color tours, relaxing or anything else, you're sure to find it right here in Michigan!

Enjoy your tour of Michigan through our photos.